*Bangkit = arise in Bahasa Malaysia
Preparing the sermon and writing my journal kept me awake until 3am last night. JJ allowed us to sleep a little longer today, but I woke up early nonetheless. I wanted to do something special for the juniors: make them a good breakfast. I hardly cook. The last time I cook a proper meal, I was trying to pass my cooking badge as a boy scout. Haha! I guess I had to do my best.
The recipe was easy: Two eggs well beaten, season with salt and mayonnaise. Heat the pan with about 3 tablespoon of cooking oil. Gently pour the eggs in the pan in circular motion. Spread out the egg while it cooks. Flip it over to cook it through. 5min later, you'll have a fluffy omelette to go with your bread.
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| Me preparing breakfast |
Easier said than done, but thanks to Michelle and Yuan Ming who offered to help, making the omelette was fun. Yuan Ming came to me like "Joash, I want to help. I fry egg very good one." LOL, I thought I was the only upfront person. But well, it wasn't just big talk from him, he even tried the pan flip. Hmm, all I could say was, at least he tried. Haha! Michelle gave her best and it was great! Shirleyuen who woke up early but does not know how to cook, prepared the tuna mayo for spread.
The rest of the team was awake while I was half way through. I needed a soundtrack for my video and I thought it would be good if we can record an original one. So I suggested that the team to record "Kasih Yesus Indah", but they excitedly took it to the next level by recording a music video. I shooed Michelle and Yuan Ming away to join them. It was pleasant to see them enjoying themselves with praises to God.
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| Michelle and Yuan Ming tasting the works of their own hands |
Breakfast was ready, but "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). The team agreed in unison to do our devotion first. I really like this team. To see them grow in such short time was definitely a joy for me. Our spirits were well fed and so was our stomach. We made extra for Ps. Ahmad and his family. They happily enjoyed it.
We were told that the service starts at 10am. But we weren't told that 10am was the start of the preparation instead of the service itself. We started packing and clearing out our properties from the church into the car. The sanctuary where we sleep last night was cleaned and chairs were arrange. At about 10:30am, people started coming it. Songs and praises did not stop until 11:30am. LOL yes, we waited about 2 hours for the service to start.
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| Xuan Zhi sharing her testimony |
Today is Easter, the day when the hope of nations, salvation of all mankind, rose again to prove that eternal life is possible through Christ and Him alone! I was overwhelmed by the worship session as I reflected on the hope and salvation offered to me through His death and resurrection. This mission was a rest for me. A rest from all my pursuit of vanity and meaningless goals. A rest of my struggle to choose between God and myself. A rest from all my comfort and complacency. When I think upon the cross, I was reminded that Christ paid a price too dear for my sitting-around.
Xuan Zhi went up to the pulpit to share her testimony. She shared her testimony of how God helped her through an unpleasant experience with her friends with prayers. She remarked that God is amazing because He used an unpleasant experience not to bless only her but even her unpleasant friend.
With tear marks on my face, I was invited to the pulpit. The thrill and adrenaline rush from stage fright shook me back to reality. I had no idea what I was talking about half the time, but words just kept pouring out. In language so familiar to me, with Biblical terms so strange to me, I began to preach with passion and confidence. I knew, that such confidence did not come from myself but from my Lord and my God. In here, there is no "Allah" issue. They just hardly care about the conflict going on in the city. They only care about worshiping God and praising His name. They care about preaching God's love at the language where the audience can understand. Here, they call our God, "Allah, Bapa kami di Syurga" (The Lord, our Father in Heaven). My sermon "3 Alasan Kebangkitan Yesus itu Penting" (3 Reasons Jesus' Resurrection is Important) took about 18min, shortest one I had ever done. Special thanks to Caroline who gave me a Malay Alkitab as present two years ago when I went to Timor Leste.
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| Easter eggs painted by GBG Sunday School |
While I was preaching, the rest of the team conducted Sunday School. They started off with Easter egg painting. The kids thoroughly enjoyed the activity. They got their hands dirty to express their artistic talents. It's amazing to witness their focus and participation, according to Michelle and Shirleyuen. They were constantly focused and active, generally nicer than urban kids. This group of kids were completely different from the urban kids. Besides painting, they learned some action songs taught by the team as well as some fun games they did together. They had a great time together.
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| Easter Egg painting |
The service ended with Pastor's announcement and prayer. Here, I saw something that was different with Chinese-majority churches: when Pastor asked for prayer requests, I expected a silent congregation, but to my surprise, hands kept raising as the congregation raised their concerns, not for themselves but for others. They prayed for the fathers who were going to be posted for their military assignment in other places for 2 months (most of the men in church are soldiers from East Malaysia). They prayed for the sick and the ministry. They prayed for us too. On the long table, there were food, all offered and prepared by the congregation themselves. To me, this looked like a Biblical church to me, where everyone shares even when they have little. These families do not have much, the church's weekly offering is about RM100, just enough to keep the church operational, but they certainly have a lot to share. I wonder if urban churches can do the same, instead of building bigger buildings and better sound systems. I don't know, even with awesome things, do they look like a church to me? Sometimes I do doubt.
It was about 2:30pm when we finally set off for Kampung Lawin. I got a little impatient when we took too much time to get ready. I overtook JJ during the drive to Kampung Lawin. He needs a little bit more experience in tough driving conditions like this. I could have been more patient with him though, I kept complaining in the car. I'm sorry.
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| Bumpy ride to Kampung Lawin |
Kampung Lawin was easier to enter because a 4x4 can easily take us their. We hopped onto a 4x4 and the journey to the village was more like sitting on a rocking chair attached to a roller coaster. We screamed and shouted in excitement at the back of the Hilux. It wasn't exactly safe but the thrill was awesome. Joanna got a little upset about being chased into the seats though. She insisted to ride at back of the 4x4 on the return journey. JJ teased her because even in the seats, she tried so hard not to scream in fear. Haha.
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| Kampung Lawin kids with my Ukulele |
To be honest, I wished we could spend more time in Kampung Lawin. The kids there were adorable. I approached some of them with my toys. Bringing my ukulele was a good call, it helped me to build relationships so much easier. The kids were fascinated by the ukulele. They tried to play with it and they somehow manage to figure it out themselves, smart kids! I started playing a few songs. They started requesting songs to sing along, I was impressed! They happily sang along with me while a few of them asked me for my shades and they went "Wah, KUNING! (yellow)" (My shades is polarised in yellow).
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| JJ distributing supplies to the people |
We sang a simple song "Dari Terbit Matahari" which stuck in our head the entire mission trip. Pastor then went on and preach a simple message of Easter. The message was simple: Today, Christ is risen! When asked about their greatest fear, the responses from the villagers were: No rice, no food, no sugar, no salt, no clothes and etc. While their concerns revolves around fulfilling their daily need for survival, Pastor decisively told them that all these concerns rose from the fact that we all fear death. But for the Christians, death is not to be feared, instead to die is gain, because we go to heaven, where we don't need rice, sugar and salt. We will have God to provide. So all these are not as important compared to knowing God and believing in Him. The message was simple, precise and powerful. The evidence of a seasoned preacher and missionary.
After the sermon, Pastor continued to distribute the supplies we brought to each family. We brought very little supply on purpose. They were more like incentives to help them through some hard times, but ultimately we want to equip them with skills that can help them sustain their lives and more importantly, seek God. But our time was too short to do anything like that. Speaking of impact, we could hardly do anything in such a short time like this, but perhaps we should come here more often, better planned. Or perhaps we can even send a 3-week missionary for an attachment here. We just need to find a brave soul crazy enough to heed His call for mission!
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| Groupie with Pastor Ahmad. Kampung Lawin in the backdrop |
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| Fun at the river |
We only stayed at Kampung Lawin for about 30min. Too bad, because Pastor needs to leave for Kampar and that's only luxury we can afford. We paid a brief visit to the rubber trees the previous team planted. In short one year the trees grew tremendously tall. By the time the fifth team comes to Kampung Lawin, it would be ready for tapping! Let's keep going there for the next 10 years! We went out with the van, on a bumpy ride.
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| Joanna |
Pastor led us to the river where we stayed for half an hour enjoying the water. The water was cold and clear, a perfect place to cool down from the hot weather. We skipped around the rocks but we dare not wet ourselves because there was no place to change. I adventurously dipped myself in between rocks where the water rushes through. It was awesome.
The journey back to campus was winding, much like our conflicted hearts as this mission was coming to an end. The scenery along the way makes this mission trip a lot harder to forget. Well, we don't plan to. The memory we had together is too precious to be forgotten. Perhaps our biggest struggle throughout the trip was to find our place in the team and realising how powerless we really are when it comes to God's Work. Where do I fit in? How can I be useful? What do I need to do? But perhaps the right questions to be asked were: What is God trying to show me? What is God doing here? What does God want me to do? Is God calling me for something bigger?
The mission ended with a dinner in Parit Buntar. It's time to get back to our normal routines, but we know, we will never be the same again.
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| Last dinner of the mission |
God's Character, My Encounter.
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